ESSENTIAL English Vocabulary about SHOPPING Listening and Pronunciation

20. useful Expressions that you can use when  shopping all right you ready let's do this  

let's practice James and his wife Pam we're in the  market for a new couch couch for the living room  

couch you know where the couch is a  couch is a sofa but more comfortable  

James and his wife Pam were in the market for  a new couch for the living room all right let's  

take a look at in the market for something  means you want to buy something in particular  

and you're researching prices information Etc  maybe you're doing some online comparison shopping  

should I buy this one should I buy that  one I'm comparing comparison shopping  

so you're looking at advertisements  websites and trying to decide what to buy  

for example I'm in the market for a new phone  

I'm thinking about buying a new phone so I'm  researching and looking at all the different  

models I'm in the market for a new car you can  even say I'm in the market for a new boyfriend  

or I'm in the market for a new girlfriend it's  a joke all right so back to our story James  

and his wife Pam were in the market  for a new couch for the living room  

they had been looking around for a while but  hadn't found anything that caught their eye  

okay let's look at these ones first  looking around and then catch their eye  

the expression looking around is kind of like in  the market for they're basically the same thing  

it's another way to say that you're looking to  buy something for instance you may say I've been  

looking around for a new wallet I want to buy a  new wallet and I have been looking around for one

looking around is also a response that we often  use when a store clerk asks us if we need any help  

so we use this expression when we want to convey  that we aren't looking for anything in particular  

and that we just want to browse there's another  shopping word browsing all right we'll get to that  

do you need any help the store clerk might say do  you need any help can I help you find something  

and then how can you answer that yeah that's  right you can say I'm just looking around or I'm  

just looking I'm just looking I'm just browsing  often we don't say I'm just looking just browsing

alright so James and his wife Pam were in  the market for a new couch for the living  

room they had been looking around for a while  but hadn't found anything that caught their eye  

so catch one's eye basically means that  something caught your attention it catches  

your interest and attention maybe it caught  your eye because the price was really good or  

the product itself is really good it caught my  eye it's really nice product it caught my eye

here's an example did anything catch your eye yes  the new special edition model really caught my eye  

would you like to buy it  hell no it's too expensive  

all right this is a joke right here you  wouldn't actually say that maybe to a friend  

okay so back to our story James and his wife Pam  had been looking around for a while but hadn't  

found anything that caught their eye one day they  saw an advertisement for a furniture store that  

was having a huge sale they decided to check it  out and see if they could pick up a good deal  

all right so in this scenario the expression  pickup means to get or obtain something to  

get something for instance I was at the store  yesterday and picked up a new pair of shoes  

I got a new pair of shoes I  picked up a new pair of shoes  

all right check it out means to  establish the truth for yourself  

so in this situation that's what it means when  you inform yourself about something you check  

it out I need to check this out for myself and  see if it's really true I'll go check it out  

so one day James and Pam saw an advertisement  for a furniture store that was having a huge  

sale they decided to check it out and  see if they could pick up a good deal  

when they arrived at the store they were pleased  to see that everything was on sale they started  

to look for good deals you look for a good  deal and quickly found a couch that they loved  

all right so when an item is  at a lower price temporarily  

then it's on sale so what's the  difference between on sale and a good deal  

they have similar meanings but they are not  exactly the same on sale typically refers to  

a product that is being offered at a lower price  than its usual price lower price than its usual  

price on sale this can be a temporary reduction  in price a clearance sale on the other hand is  

more of a promotional discount that puts the  emphasis on the price reduction maybe the item  

will no longer be sold so they're clearing  it out it's a price for big price reduction  

so when James and Pam arrived at the store  they were pleased to see that everything was  

on sale they started to look for good deals  and quickly found a couch that they loved  

they decided to grab it before  anyone else could get it  

here grab is an expression meaning to  take something quickly and eagerly eagerly  

often with the intention of securing it before  anyone else does get it first be first if you  

snooze you lose grab it all right for instance  I went to the supermarket and grabbed the last  

loaf of bread on the Shelf I grabbed it so back to  our story James and Pam wanted to secure the couch  

for themselves before someone else could take  it they decided to grab it before anyone else  

could get it this sentence and this sentence  are the same thing I restated the sentence  

so secure the couch for themselves  grab it before anyone else could get it

shopping around means to be looking  around at the other merchandise in  

the store with the intent to buy  something shopping around intending  

to buy something shopping around  it's different than browsing right

had been eyeing this means you  had looked at it for a while  

you you've been looking at it you have  been eyeing it you've been looking at  

it you are interested in an item and you are  thinking about buying it you've been eyeing it

for instance you might say I've been eyeing  that jacket I've been eyeing that jacket  

I'm thinking about buying it

so James and Pam continued to shop  around they noticed that some of the  

other items they had been eyeing were also on sale

they decided to pick out a few more things and  stock up on some Home Goods while they were at it  

all right the act of picking out something  usually involves a deliberate and thoughtful  

process of selection as opposed to Simply  browsing all right so if you're picking it  

out you it's it's thoughtful and deliberate if  you're browsing um you know you don't really  

know what you want you're just thinking maybe I  want something maybe I don't I'm just browsing  

so as opposed to Simply browsing or looking around  without any intention of purchasing something

let's move on for example Kim and I went to the  mall and she picked out several outfits to try on  

so she picked the outfits out to try them on the  expression stock up is commonly used when you want  

to say that you're buying extra of something  buying extra of something you're stocking up  

you already own that's this item you just  want some more it might be something you need  

when you want to indicate that you're purchasing  more of something you already possess or require  

the phrase stock up on is frequently used  for instance during the pandemic people  

were stocking up on toilet paper were buying  extra toilet paper right they were stocking up

hey paper towels are on sale this week let's  stock up on them example sentence hey paper  

towels are on sale this week let's stock up on  them let's buy lots more than we actually need  

all right the expression while you are at it  while at it while you are at it while we were at  

it oh I didn't make the at it read there doesn't  matter while I was at it while they were at it  

what does that mean it means since someone is  already doing a task or activity they might as  

well do another task at the same time you're doing  a you might as well do B together at the same time  

for instance if you're going to get an  oil change for your car change the oil  

you can also put air in your tires while you're  at it while you're at it put air in the tires  

I'm going to get an oil change honey oh  while you're at it put air in the tires

so James and Pam continued to shop around  

they decided to pick out a few more things and  stock up on some Home Goods while they were at it

however as they were checking out they noticed  that the store was completely sold out of the  

coffee table that they also wanted to buy oh no  the coffee table we wanted to buy is sold out

all right now check out is an expression that  is used when you take the merchandise that you  

would like to purchase and bring it to the  cashier to purchase it you're checking out  

all right sold out means out of stock out  of stock that the particular item is not in  

stock it's currently unavailable for purchase  it's out of stock perhaps because people had  

purchased all available quantities in stock is  the opposite of the expression out of stock If  

an item is in stock it is available to  be purchased yeah we have that in stock  

so when James and Pam went to purchase their items  went to check out they noticed that the coffee  

table they also wanted to buy was unavailable to  be purchased it was sold out it was out of stock

disappointed they asked the manager if  he could check the stock in other stores  

the manager Bob checked online and  

found it in stock he placed the order for them  with the item being delivered to their home

actual stores with a physical location of  physical locations are called physical stores  

physical stores is what we call them they have  items in store and online stores or websites  

they have items online as opposed to in-store  and their items are available for delivery  

all right the expression place an order is  essentially to order something or buy something  

you will get later you will get it later  you place an order and you will get it later  

you submit an order for a product you  place an order submit an order place an  

order I called the restaurant  to place an order for takeout

so Bob the manager checked online and found it in  stock he placed the order for them with the item  

being delivered to their home as they were leaving  the store they realized the couch that the couch  

they had bought was too big for their living  room they decided to take it back and return it  

to purchase something else oh Bob's going  to be upset because they're taking back  

the couch they're returning it take it back  is an expression meaning to bring back an  

item to either return it for a full refund  or get an exchange or maybe store credit  

an exchange is when you replace the item  with the same exact item perhaps the item  

was defective or damaged so you ask for  an exchange can I have an exchange please

so James and Pam took back the couch and returned  it to purchase something else luckily the store  

had a great return policy and they were able  to take back the couch to buy a different one  

feeling satisfied with their purchase and glad  that they were able to purchase the coffee table  

online James and Pam left the store happy and  excited to redecorate their home with their new  

finds new fines they had lots of new finds fines  are items that you succeeded in obtaining getting  

look at my new find look  what I got wow what a find  

that's really nice boom that's the workout I hope  you enjoyed that one step at a time that was step  

2683. that was a lot of talking for Me Maybe  mostly listening for you in our next lesson  

we'll do some more speaking practice all right  englishcoastchad.com I'll see you in the next step